The PSAT/NMSQT is a standardized test that measures critical reading, writing, and math skills. It is taken by over 3.5 million high school students each year as practice for the SAT and to qualify for National Merit Scholarships. The document provides an overview of the skills tested on the PSAT/NMSQT, including critical reading, math, and writing sections, and provides sample questions and test preparation strategies to help students succeed.

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Prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT®:
A Step to the Future

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A Brief Overview of the Presentation
 What is the
PSAT/NMSQT?
 Skills Tested on the
PSAT/NMSQT
 Sample PSAT/NMSQT
Questions
 Test Preparation
Strategies
Notify students and parents about the PSAT/NMSQT ®:

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What is the PSAT/NMSQT?

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What is the PSAT/NMSQT®?
 Measures academic skills you’ll need for college
 Co-sponsored by the College Board and National
Merit Scholarship Corporation
 Serves as an entry point to National Merit
Scholarship Corporation competitions and
practice for the SAT
 Approximately 3.5 million students participate
each year (44% eleventh-graders and 56%
tenth-graders or younger)

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Benefits of the PSAT/NMSQT®
 Preparation for the SAT®
 Scholarship and recognition opportunities (11th
grade)
 College and career planning tools
 Admissions and financial aid information from
colleges
 Feedback on academic skills

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What Skills are Tested on the
PSAT/NMSQT?
The test assesses the academic skills that you’ve
developed over the years, primarily through your
course work.
These skills are considered essential for success
in high school and college:
 Critical Reading
 Mathematics
 Writing Skills

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Critical Reading Questions
Use content from:
– humanities
– social studies
– natural sciences
– literature
• 13 Sentence
Completions
• 35 Passage-Based
Reading
Questions (100- to 800-word passages)

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Mathematics Questions
Use content from:
-number and operations
-algebra and functions;
-geometry and measurement
-data analysis
-statistics
-probability
28 Multiple-Choice
Questions
10 Student-Produced
Response Questions (“Grid-ins”)

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Writing Skills Questions
Focus on editing, grammar,
usage, and organization.
 20 Improving Sentences
Questions
 14 Identifying Sentence
Error Questions
 5 Improving Paragraph Questions

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How does the PSAT/NMSQT ®
compare to the SAT®?
Question Types:
The same, except the PSAT/NMSQT does not have an essay
component.
Length:
The PSAT/NMSQT is 2 hours, 10 minutes.
The SAT is 3 hours, 45 minutes.
Level of Difficulty:
The PSAT/NMSQT does not have 11th grade-level math
questions.

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Sample Questions

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Roger said the report was significant; Heather contradicted him,
saying that all the information presented was _______ .
Critical Reading: Sentence Completions
 Because Heather is contradicting Roger,
the correct response is the word that is
most nearly the opposite of “significant.”
 Choice (E) is correct.
 “Immaterial” means inconsequential or
irrelevant.
 Information that is immaterial is by
definition not significant.
(A) contemporary
(B) scintillating
(C) objective
(D) irrevocable
(E) immaterial

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Critical Reading: Passage-Based Questions
Passage Excerpt:
After I left the room, I began to sift my impressions. Only the day before, an
acquaintance had warned me to watch carefully for sleight-of-hand tricks,
especially as the man had earlier been a stage conjuror.
Question: The “acquaintance” mentioned in line 2 can best be described as a
(A) skeptic
(B) hypocrite
(C) hoaxer
(D) confidant
(E) mystic
 The acquaintance mentioned in line 2 warns the
author to “watch carefully for sleight-of-hand
tricks.”
 Choice (A) is correct.
 In warning the author to watch out for tricks, the
acquaintance is showing that he is skeptical
about the telepathist's supposed powers.

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If ax + bx = 36, what is the value of x when a + b = 12?
The expression ax + bx is equivalent to (a +
b) x, so the equation ax + bx = 36 is
equivalent to (a + b) x = 36.
(A) 3
(B) 6
(C) 12
(D) 24
(E) 48
Math Section: Multiple Choice
When a + b = 12, the equation becomes 12x
= 36, which can be solved to get x = 3.

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 Multiply each member of the equation by
12 (the common denominator) to get
3h + 4 = 10h
 Subtract 3h from both sides to get 7h = 4
 Divide by 7
 h = 4/7
Know the Student-Produced Response Directions! The correct
answer must be gridded correctly to receive credit. What is written in the
boxes is not scored.
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Math Section: Student-Produced Response
If
h
4
1
3
5h
6
+ = , then what is the value of h?

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$1.75 2 ⅓ 0.444… 20%
1 . 7 5 7 / 3 . 4 4 4 2.
Student-Produced Responses – Sample Grids

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Calculators are Encouraged
A scientific or graphing calculator is recommended.
Bring a familiar calculator. Test day is not the time
to figure out how to use a new calculator.

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A few barges still move oil up to
Hartford, but in the old days they had
more traffic then.
(Note: In this question type, the first choice
(A) always repeats the underlined phrase
exactly, indicating that there should be no
change.)
(A) but in the old days they had more
traffic then
(B) but in the old days traffic was
heavier
(C) but in the old days they had a lot
more
(D) whereas the traffic was a lot more
in the old days
(E) whereas then there was more
traffic in the old days
Writing Skills Section: Improving
Sentences
Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the errors
of the original by eliminating both the
unnecessary adverb, “then,” and the
vague pronoun, “they.”

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The electronic computer is a technological triumph that scientists have developed,
mastered, and then put it to constantly increasing use. No Error.
A B C D E
The error in this sentence occurs at (B), where an unnecessary pronoun is used.
Writing Skills Section: Identifying
Sentence Errors
The object of the verb “have . . . put” (like the object of the verbs “have developed”
and “have . . . Mastered”) is the relative pronoun “that,” which refers to
“technological triumph.”
The pronoun “it” is therefore unnecessarily inserted after “put.”

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A few barges still move oil up to
Hartford, but in the old days they had
more traffic then.
(Note: In this question type, the first choice
(A) always repeats the underlined phrase
exactly, indicating that there should be no
change.)
(A) but in the old days they had more
traffic then
(B) but in the old days traffic was
heavier
(C) but in the old days they had a lot
more
(D) whereas the traffic was a lot more
in the old days
(E) whereas then there was more
traffic in the old days
Writing Skills Section: Improving
Sentences
Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the errors
of the original by eliminating both the
unnecessary adverb, “then,” and the
vague pronoun, “they.”

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(1) The last century was a time of great technological progress. (2) Life is more
convenient, comfortable, and efficient today than ever before. (3) Yet this has created
new concerns.
Choice (B) is correct. The
vague pronoun “this” is
replaced by “this
progress,” which clearly
refers to the progress
mentioned in sentence 1.
Which of the following versions of sentence 3
(reproduced below) is most effective?
Yet this has created new concerns.
(A) Although this has created new concerns.
(B) Yet this progress has created new concerns.
(C) Yet these have created new concerns.
(D) Yet this has created new concerns to worry about.
(E) New concerns have been created.
Writing Skills Section: Improving Paragraphs

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Test Preparation Strategies

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Know How the PSAT/NMSQT Is
Scored
Multiple-choice questions:
 1 point for each correct
 ¼ point deducted for each incorrect
Math grid-ins:
 1 point for each correct
 0 points for each incorrect
0 points for omitted questions
Scale:
 20-80 for each test section

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Personalized Skills Information
The PSAT/NMSQT Score Report:
 contains information to help you improve your
academic skills.
 lists skills that you have the best chance of
improving with additional work.
 includes advice, written by teachers, on how to
improve those skills.

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Test Preparation: Long-Term
READ!
 Continuous reading improves vocabulary and develops
essential skills.
 Read more books than just those required for class.
Take Challenging Courses!
 This will help you to develop and strengthen your critical
thinking skills.

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Test Preparation: Short-Term
 Take the practice test in the
Official Student Guide to the
PSAT/NMSQT.
 Understand scoring and
“educated guessing.”
 Familiarize yourself with the
test’s format, questions types,
and directions.

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Test Preparation: Test Readiness
Strategies
When you sit down to take the test:
 Read all of the directions.
 Read all of each question’s answer choices.
 Do scratch work in the test book.
 Work at a steady pace.
If you skip a question:
 Note it in the test book.
 Leave it blank on the answer sheet.
 Return to it if there is time.
 Remember: you don’t have to answer every question to score well.

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Visit collegeboard.org

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Take the PSAT/NMSQT
Test Day/Date: OCTOBER 15, 2014
Time: 8:15 AM
Location:
You should bring…
 Two #2 Pencils
 Calculator (optional, but encouraged!)

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PSAT/NMSQT
A Step to the Future